Karen Read's civil attorneys seeking access to sidebar transcripts from her criminal trial
Greg Derr/Associated Press
'There are, at this juncture, few aspects of this case that have not been explored in depth publicly,' Damon M. Seligson, a lawyer representing Read, wrote in the motion.
Her lawyers aren't seeking the identities of jurors in the criminal trials, Seligson wrote, but 'with regard to sidebar conversations ... good cause no longer exists for impoundment.'
Judges call attorneys to sidebar for discussions outside the earshot of jurors and the public when sensitive evidentiary or procedural questions arise. There were scores of such conferences in both of Read's criminal trials.
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Once a trial concludes, sidebar conferences can be publicly released.
Karen Read joins attorneys for a sidebar with Judge Beverly J. Cannone on June 9, 2025.
Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff
Read, 45, was
drunken driving and received a year's probation.
Prosecutors alleged that she drunkenly backed her SUV into Boston police officer John O'Keefe early on Jan. 29, 2022, after dropping him off outside a Canton home following a night of bar-hopping.
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Her lawyers said she was framed and that O'Keefe entered the property, owned at the time by a fellow Boston police officer, where he was fatally beaten and possibly mauled by a German Shepherd before his body was planted on the front lawn.
A wrongful death lawsuit filed by O'Keefe's family is pending in Plymouth Superior Court, where Read's lawyers
A trial date for the lawsuit hasn't been set. A status conference is scheduled for Sept. 22, records show.
Material from prior Globe stories was used in this report.
Travis Andersen can be reached at
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